Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer

Betty Box Betty Evelyn Box, (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer, usually credited as Betty E. Box. Early life and career Born in Beckenham, Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journa ...

. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company

Verity Films Verity Films was a British documentary film production company, founded by Sydney Box and Jay Gardner Lewis in March or May 1940. Background The company's initial purpose was to make short propaganda films for the wartime government.Spicer, 18 ...

with

Jay Lewis Jay Gardner Lewis (1914 – June 4, 1969) was a film director, a film producer and writer born in Warwickshire, England. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Sydney Box. Filmography Director *''A Home of Your O ...

. He produced and co-wrote the screenplay, with his then wife

Muriel Box Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, (22 September 1905 – 18 May 1991) was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for ''The Seventh ...

, for ''

The Seventh Veil ''The Seventh Veil'' is a 1945 British melodrama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring James Mason and Ann Todd. It was made by Ortus Films (a company established by producer Sydney Box) and released through General Film Distributors in ...

'' (1945), which received the 1946

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for best original screenplay. Sydney and Muriel married in 1935, had a daughter Leonora, the following year and divorced in 1969.

Gainsborough Studios

The couple were then hired by

the Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

to run

Gainsborough Studios Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

. They disapproved of the

Gainsborough melodramas The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 which conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline British Film Ins ...

which had been the studio's major successes for several years, and switched production to a broader range of more "realistic" films with mixed results. Box made 36 films at Gainsborough, which was merged into the Rank Organization in 1949. In 1951 he founded his own production company

London Independent Producers London Independent Producers was a British film production company. It was founded in 1951 by Sydney Box and William MacQuitty. Box had recently been head of production of Gainsborough Pictures, part of the Rank Organisation. After Gainsborough w ...

with William MacQuitty. Box ended his cinema career in 1958 to concentrate on working in television. He was part of a consortium that launched the ITV franchise,

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...

in 1959.

Selected filmography

Screenwriter and producer * ''

29 Acacia Avenue ''29 Acacia Avenue'' is a play by Denis and Mabel Constanduros. Its 1945 British comedy-drama film adaptation, directed by Henry Cass, was released in the U.S. as ''The Facts of Love''. Premise Peter Robinson falls in love with the naïve count ...

'' (1945) * ''

'' (1945) * '' The Years Between'' (1946) * ''

A Girl in a Million ''A Girl in a Million'' is a 1946 British comedy film. It is notable for featuring Joan Greenwood in an early starring role; and Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne in their comedy double act as two cricket-obsessed Englishmen, this time called Fot ...

'' (1946) * '' The Happy Family'' (1952) * '' Street Corner'' (1953) * ''

Too Young to Love "Too Young to Love" is the debut single by The Big Pink. "Too Young to Love" was released with the double A-side track "Crystal Visions" on 7" vinyl on October 7, 2008, and both tracks were later re-recorded and included on their debut album '' A ...

'' (1959) Producer *
Country Town
' (1943) * ''

Don't Take It to Heart ''Don't Take It to Heart'' is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Richard Greene, Alfred Drayton, Patricia Medina, Moore Marriott and Richard Bird. It was shot at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith with sets de ...

'' (1944) *'' The Brothers'' (1947) * ''The Happy Family'' (1952) * ''The Beachcomber'' (1954) * ''Eyewitness'' (1956) *''

The Truth About Women ''The Truth About Women'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling and Diane Cilento. Plot When his son-in-law comes to him with a woeful tale of an unhappy relationship and ...

'' (1957) *''

Subway in the Sky ''Subway in the Sky'' is a 1959 British crime film directed by Muriel Box and starring Van Johnson, Hildegard Knef and Albert Lieven. Hildegard Knef, who changed career in the 1960s to become a cabaret singer and songwriter, sings one song in t ...

'' (1959)

Films as Head of Gainsborough

*'' The Man Within'' (1947) *'' The Brothers'' (1947) *''

Dear Murderer ''Dear Murderer'' is a 1947 British film noir crime, drama, thriller, directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures, and starring Eric Portman and Greta Gynt. The film has come to be regarded as one of the best movies made under the su ...

'' (1947) *''

The Upturned Glass ''The Upturned Glass'' is a 1947 British film noir psychological thriller directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring James Mason, Rosamund John and Pamela Kellino. The screenplay concerns a leading brain surgeon who murders a woman he believes ...

'' (1947) *''

Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

'' (1947) *'' Jassy'' (1947) *'' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947) *''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...

'' (1948) *'' Snowbound'' (1948) *'' Miranda'' (1948) *''

Broken Journey ''Broken Journey'' (also known as ''Rescue'') is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. ''Broken Journey'' deals with people struggling to sur ...

'' (1948) *''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir- crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They ex ...

'' (1948) *'' The Calendar'' (1948) *'' My Brother's Keeper'' (1948) *'' The Blind Goddess'' (1948) *''

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

'' (1948) *''

Here Come the Huggetts ''Here Come the Huggetts'' is a 1948 British comedy film, the first of the The Huggetts (film series), Huggetts series, about a working class English family. All three films in the series were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough ...

'' (1948) *''

Portrait from Life ''Portrait from Life'' (also known as ''Lost Daughter'', and in the U.S. as ''The Girl in the Painting'') is a 1948 British drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Mai Zetterling, Robert Beatty and Guy Rolfe. Plot A British Army offi ...

'' (1948) *''

Vote for Huggett ''Vote for Huggett'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Susan Shaw and Petula Clark. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. In this, the t ...

'' (1949) *''

The Bad Lord Byron ''The Bad Lord Byron'' is a 1949 British historical drama film about the life of Lord Byron. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred Dennis Price as Byron with Mai Zetterling, Linden Travers and Joan Greenwood. Plot The film sees life ...

'' (1949) *'' It's Not Cricket'' (1949) *''

A Boy, a Girl and a Bike ''A Boy, a Girl and a Bike'' is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring John McCallum, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt. The film's art direction was by George Provis. The film concerns the romantic escapades an ...

'' (1949) *''

The Huggetts Abroad ''The Huggetts Abroad'' is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of The Huggetts. The film was less commercially successful than its predecessors. A sequel, ''Christmas ...

'' (1949) *'' Marry Me!'' (1949) *''

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

'' (1949) *'' Helter Skelter'' (1949) *''

Don't Ever Leave Me ''Don't Ever Leave Me'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley. Produced by Betty Box during her stint at Gainsborough Pictures, it wa ...

'' (1949) *''

The Lost People ''The Lost People'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and Bernard Knowles and starring Dennis Price, Mai Zetterling and Richard Attenborough. It is based on the play ''Cockpit'' by Bridget Boland. It was shot partly at Den ...

'' (1949) *'' Diamond City'' (1949) *'' Boys in Brown'' (1949) *''

Traveller's Joy ''Traveller's Joy'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum and Maurice Denham. Based on a West End play of the same name by Arthur Macrae, it was the last film released by the original ...

'' (1949) *'' The Astonished Heart'' (1950) *''

So Long at the Fair ''So Long at the Fair'' (US re-release title ''The Black Curse'') is a 1950 British thriller film directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough, and starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde. It was adapted from the 1947 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1950) *'' Trio'' (1950)

Selected plays

* ''

'' (1951)

References

External links

* 1907 births 1983 deaths Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners English film producers English male screenwriters People from Beckenham 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-film-producer-stub